Visualization: Big Money in Tax Breaks

The federal tax code includes hundreds of tax breaks designed to encourage certain activities that lawmakers
deem beneficial to society. Tax deductions, credits, and exclusions are all different kinds of tax breaks.
Tax breaks result in fewer revenue dollars collected by the U.S. Treasury. This visualization, based on
NPP’s tax break dataset,
shows some of the most expensive tax breaks, who benefits, and how their costs have changed over time.

The left-hand chart shows the top 10 most expensive tax breaks in 2013. The right-hand side shows how selected
top tax breaks benefit different income groups and shows the cost of all tax breaks over time. These right-hand
charts will change to show information about a specific tax break as you move your mouse over the bars on the left.

The left-hand chart shows the top 10 most expensive tax breaks in 2013. The right-hand side shows how selected
top tax breaks affect different income groups and shows the cost of all tax breaks over time.

For an interactive version of these charts that will display details about each of the top 10 tax breaks,
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